Tickets on sale for record-breaking slide wrapped around London's ArcelorMittal Orbit tower
Tickets are now on sale for the world’s tallest and longest slide, which will open inside Anish Kapoor’s ArcelorMittal Orbit London tower on 24 June 2016.
Known simply as The Slide, the attraction is a collaboration between artist Kapoor and designer Carsten Höller.
The 178m (590ft) helter skelter, designed with Bblur Architects, will start 76m (249 ft) above the ground and includes transparent polycarbonate sections allowing riders to look at the surrounding Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as they descend.
The Slide will twist and turn 12 times, including a tight corkscrew section named the ‘bettfeder’ – after the German word for ‘bedspring.’ It ends with a 50 metre straight run to the ground. Riders are expected to hit speeds of up to 15 miles per hour during the 40-second trip from top to bottom.
Construction is being led by Buckingham Group Constructing using specialist abseilers provided by CAN Structures, with structural engineering work provided by BuroHappold.
Slide manufacturer Wiegand and British firm Interkey are also involved in connecting the attraction’s 30 steel sections, using a complex procedure involving ropes and pulleys that has been specially designed for the project.
Höller, said: “Since 1999, I have built a number of slides, both freestanding and attached to buildings, but never onto another artwork as in this case.
“Now that the two artworks will be intertwined with each other, I see it as one of these double situations that I am so interested in. I like it when a sense of unity is reached in two separate entities, and you can find this thought to repeatedly occur in my work.”
Users must be at least 1.3m in height and weigh under 149kg to ride the slide. Tickets cost £5, in addition to a ticket to the ArcelorMittal Orbit.
Carsten Höller ArcelorMittal Orbit tower Anish Kapoor The Slide Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London designWorld's longest slide to be wrapped around London's Orbit Tower
£22.7m ArcelorMittal Orbit unveiled at London's Olympic Park
ArcelorMittal Orbit reaches full height
UAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Bionic leaves, breathable metals and selfgrowing bricks... Biomimicry in architecture has come a long way. Christopher DeWolf takes a look at the latest advances